CANBERRA LIBERALS CRACK DOWN ON ‘REVENGE PORN’

Worst offenders face 2 years jail

It could soon be a crime to engage in ‘revenge porn’ in the ACT, with the worst offenders to face up to two years behind bars.

That’s under proposed new laws to be introduced by the Canberra Liberals.

Shadow Attorney General Jeremy Hanson said they want to stop people posting images of their former partners online against their wishes.

“People are using that to intimidate, to threaten, to cause real damage to their former partners by posting it online,” he said.

“We want to send a very clear message that is just unacceptable.”

It’s a growing problem in Australia, with data from RMIT showing one in five Aussies have been victims of ‘revenge porn’ – by having revealing images of themselves shared online without their permission.

Mr Hanson said it’s time the law caught up with technology.

“No one was thinking about these laws ten years ago because they weren’t needed, but clearly they are now.”

The proposed laws are largely based on existing legislation from Victoria.

“It recognises that this problem is a scourge that is destroying lives and should therefore incur significant consequences,” Mr Hanson said.

“It also regards the threat to distribute intimate material as part of the offence.”

Mr Hanson said it’s something the ACT Government should’ve acted on by now.

“I’ll be looking for support in the Assembly to make sure that we keep people safe. We don’t want these sort of images being distributed against people’s wishes.”